1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for power control in a portable terminal. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for reducing the power consumed during battery gauging in a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable terminal displays its remaining battery capacity on its display unit so that a user can detect the remaining battery capacity. Hereinafter, a process for displaying the remaining battery capacity in the portable terminal is referred to as ‘battery gauging.’
The portable terminal performs periodic battery gauging in order to display an accurate remaining battery capacity. For example, when the portable terminal operates in an active mode, it performs battery gauging at short periods to display the remaining battery capacity on the display unit.
Also, when the portable terminal operates in a low-power mode in order to reduce the battery power consumption, it performs periodic battery gauging to display the remaining battery capacity on the display unit. Herein, the low-power mode includes a sleep mode and an idle mode.
If the portable terminal operating in a low-power mode performs periodic battery gauging, it periodically wakes up for the purpose of battery gauging, thus increasing the power consumption.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for reducing the amount of power consumed during battery gauging in a portable terminal.